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NEWS Study finds potential for Mississippi Delta to join global bioeconomy The U.S.’s Mississippi Delta Region can secure a leadership role in the $140 billion global bioeconomy by leveraging its agricultural and forestry assets and attracting technology partners from outside the region, according to “Regional Strategy for Biobased Products in the Mississippi Delta,” a Batelle Technology Partnership Practice study released Aug. 25. The study, initiated by Memphis Bioworks Foundation, covers 98 counties in five states—Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee—and includes participation from several companies and organizations in all five states. The total area of the study covers 36 million acres. Among other things, the study concluded that sustainably grown and harvested biomass in the region can supply an $8 billion biofuels and biobased products industry without affecting the food and feed supply. The study also found that the transformation would create more than 25,000 green and supporting jobs in the next 10 years, along with more than 50,000 in the next 20 years; it would open up markets for new crops that will increase biodiversity in the region, leading to reduced use of synthetic fertilizers, agricultural chemicals and water, while increasing options for local farmers; and would contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increase air quality, provide sustainable raw materials for local industries and
boost national security, according to Memphis Bioworks. The biomass addressed in the report includes all agricultural crops and trees in harvested, unprocessed form, alternative crops such as canola and perennial grass, and woody biomass. The types of biomass are separated into four groups: oilseeds, sugar and starches, lignocellulosics, and niche crops. A Mississippi Delta regional bioeconomy would provide farmers an opportunity to grow alternative crops and participate in value-added agriculture, according to Steven Bares, Memphis Bioworks executive director. It also would allow companies to benefit from a reliable source of renewable raw materials, attract regional investment, add value to underutilized biomass resources, and create opportunities to grow high-value biomass on marginal lands, among other advantages, according to the report. Each of the five states will launch individual initiatives appropriate for its region aimed at enhancing existing opportunities and expanding its role in the biobased products industry, according to Memphis Bioworks. The full report can be downloaded at www.agbioworks. org/regional.cfm. —Lisa Gibson
USDA’s list of BCAP qualifiers continues to grow U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the USDA had made the first matching payment under the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, a 2008 Farm Bill program, which provides financial assistance to producers or entities that deliver eligible biomass material to designated biomass conversion facilities for use as heat, power, biobased products or biofuels. And that list is quickly growing. The first to make the list was Missouri-based Show Me Energy Co-op. The farmer-owned cooperative completed an agreement soon after the application acceptance deadline July 29, according to FSA Administrator Jonathan Coppess. The co-op has more than 500 biomass producers supplying materials such as switchgrass, straw, corn stover, sawdust, woodchips and other biomass materials to produce biomass pellets and possibly biofuels. Show Me Energy Co-op was joined by eight more biomass conversion facilities. According to Kent Politsch, chief spokesman for the Farm Service Agency, the list will continue to expand. Current qualifiers range from Wisconsin wood pellet producer Indeck Ladysmith LLC to the Sugar Cane Growers Co-op of Florida. Under the BCAP program, the USDA will provide financial assistance to biomass producers who sell their crops to qualified biomass conversion facilities for up to 75 percent of the cost of
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establishing and planting eligible biomass crops within a BCAP project area. In addition, the USDA will provide annual payments to help compensate for lost opportunity costs until the crops are established, and will provide further financial assistance for the collection, harvest, storage and transportation of biomass crops by matching the amounts paid to producers by the biomass conversion facility, up to $45 per dry ton. Politsch told Biomass Magazine that the number of qualifiers should grow exponentially based on calls and other contacts. “I have been responding to about four calls per day, and they’re new clientel for this agency, including small tree farmers and landowners who rent land to lumber companies and are then required to clean their land before a new planting can take place; very different from the traditional grain and livestock producers we normally deal with,” he said. The swift action on BCAP stems from President Barack Obama’s directive issued in May to Vilsack to aggressively accelerate the investment in and production of biofuels. For more information about BCAP, visit http://www.fsa.usda. gov/FSA/. —Anna Austin